Australia flags deeper search for Malaysian jet

In this Thursday, April 17, 2014, photo provided by the Australian Defense Force, the Phoenix International Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Artemis is launched from the Australian Defense Vessel Ocean Shield in to the southern Indian Ocean in the search of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.(Photo: AP)

CANBERRA, Australia — The hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet will likely soon deploy more powerful sonar equipment that can delve deeper as the current search of the most likely crash site in the Indian Ocean has failed to yield any clues, Australia's defense minister said Wednesday.

The search coordination center said Wednesday a robotic submarine, the U.S. Navy's Bluefin 21, had so far covered more than 80 percent of the 310-square-kilometer (120-square-mile) seabed search zone off the Australian west coast, creating a three-dimensional sonar map of the ocean floor. Nothing of interest had been found.

The 4.5-kilometer (2.8-mile) deep search area is a circle 20 kilometers (12 miles) wide around an area where sonar equipment picked up a signal on April 8 consistent with a plane's black boxes. The black box beacons' batteries would by now be dead.

Defense Minister David Johnston said Australia was consulting with Malaysia, China and the United States on the next phase of the search for the plane that went missing March 8, which is likely to be announced next week.

Johnston said more powerful towed side-scan commercial sonar equipment would probably be deployed, similar to the remote-controlled subs that found RMS Titanic 3,800 meters (12,500 feet) under the Atlantic Ocean in 1985 and the Australian WWII wreck HMAS Sydney in the Indian Ocean off the Australian coast, north of the current search area, in 2008.

"The next phase, I think, is that we step up with potentially a more powerful, more capable side-scan sonar to do deeper water," Johnston told The Associated Press.

Medical personnel and people use a stretcher to carry out a woman who fainted after the announcement by the Malaysian government that the missing Malaysia Airlines airliner MH370 had crashed in the Indian Ocean, from a hotel ballroom in Beijing, China Monday, March 24, 2014. AP

Relatives of Chinese passengers aboard the Malaysia Airlines, MH370 read out a statement calling for Malaysia Airlines and Malaysia's government to be held accountable after learning about the latest news in Beijing, China, Monday, March 24, 2014. AP

One of the relatives of Chinese passengers aboard missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 wipes her tears as she watches a TV news program about the missing flight after a briefing meeting with Malaysian officials in a hotel ballroom in Beijing, China. Planes are flying out of Australia again to search for two objects detected by satellite that may be debris from the missing Malaysian airliner. AP

In this photo provided by the Australia Defence Department, Royal Australian Air Force Loadmasters Sgt. Adam Roberts (left) and Flight Sgt. John Mancey, launch a Self Locating Data Marker Buoy from a C-130J Hercules aircraft in the southern Indian Ocean as part of the Australian Defence Force's assistance to the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. AP

Japanese Air Self-Defense Force's loadmaster Takayuki Ogawa (right) and trained spotter Hiroshi Nakahara scan the ocean aboard a C130 aircraft while it flies over the southern search area in the southeastern Indian Ocean, 124 to 186 miles south of Sumatra, Indonesia. Search planes scoured a remote patch of the Indian Ocean but came back empty-handed Friday after looking for any sign of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, another disappointing day in one of the world's biggest aviation mysteries. AP

Relatives of Chinese passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines, flight MH370, turn to journalists to shout their demands for answers after Malaysian government representatives left a briefing in Beijing, China. A satellite spotted two large objects in the desolate southern Indian Ocean earlier this week, raising hopes of finding the Boeing 777 that disappeared March 8 with 239 people on board, although nothing was spotted in a sea search. AP

A woman hangs a message card for passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane, at a shopping mall in Petaling Jaya, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Frustration grew over the lack of progress tracking down two objects spotted by satellite that might be Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, with a Malaysian official expressing worry that the search area will have to be widened if no trace of the plane is found. AP

Flight officer Rayan Gharazeddine on board a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion, searches for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in southern Indian Ocean, Australia. A satellite image released by China offered the latest sign that wreckage from a Malaysia Airlines plane lost for more than two weeks could be in a remote stretch of the southern Indian Ocean where planes and ships had been searching for days. AP

Ground crew members stand in front of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force P3C patrol plane before it leaves the Royal Malaysian Air Force base for Australia to join a search and rescue operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines, flight MH370, in Subang, Malaysia. Search planes headed back out to a desolate patch of the southern Indian Ocean in hopes of finding answers to the fate of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, after China released a satellite image showing a large object floating in the search zone. AP

Cyclists hold a banner reading "Pray for MH370" during "The Ride of Prayer" for the missing Malaysia Airlines, flight MH370, outside the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia. Search planes headed back out to a desolate patch of the southern Indian Ocean in hopes of finding answers to the fate of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, after China released a satellite image showing a large object floating in the search zone. AP

A relative of Chinese passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines, MH370, expresses her frustration at the lack of information to journalists in Beijing, China. Planes and ships scrambled Sunday to find a pallet and other debris in a remote patch of the southern Indian Ocean to determine whether the objects were from the Malaysia Airlines jet that has been missing for more than two weeks. AP

Mike Barton, rescue coordination chief (right) shows Australia's Deputy Prime Minister, Warren Truss, the map of the Indian Ocean search areas during a tour of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's rescue coordination center in Canberra. Planes and ships scrambled to find a pallet and other debris in a remote patch of the southern Indian Ocean to determine whether the objects were from the Malaysia Airlines jet that has been missing for more than two weeks. AP

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's P-3C Orion aircraft sits on the tarmac after arriving at Royal Australian Air Force Pearce Base to help with search operations for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, in Perth, Australia. AP

Royal Australian Air Force pilot Capt. Russell Adams speaks to the media after returning from a search mission in an AP-3C Orion at Pearce Base in Perth, Australia. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing over the Gulf of Thailand on March 8 with 239 people on board en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing, setting off a multinational search effort that has turned up nothing conclusive so far on what happened to the jet. AP

A woman walks past a message board for passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane, at a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. With no answers yet in the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, investigators have said they?re considering many options: hijacking, sabotage, terrorism or catastrophic equipment failure. Nobody knows if the pilots are heroes who tried to save a crippled airliner or if one collaborated with hijackers or was on a suicide mission. The mystery has raised concerns about whether airlines and governments do enough to make sure that pilots are mentally fit to fly. AP

Pakistanis hold candles for the passengers of a Malaysia Airlines plane which disappeared on March 8, while holding a candlelight vigil organized by Peace for Life Welfare Foundation in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, March 20, 2014. AP

In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, Lt. j.g. Kyle Atakturk (left) and Lt. j.g. Nicholas Horton pilot a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon during a mission to assist in search and rescue operations for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Wednesday March 19, 2014. AP

This graphic made Wednesday, March 19, 2014 and released by Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) Thursday, March 20, 2014, shows an area in the southern Indian Ocean that the AMSA is concentrating its search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on. AP

This Wednesday, March 19, 2014, photo released by the Australia Defence Department shows Royal Australian Air Force Flight Engineer, Warrant Officer Ron Day from 10 Squadron, on board an AP-3C Orion over the Southern Indian Ocean off the Western Australian coast during a search operation for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. AP

A message card is seen below a paper plane of a Malaysian airliner, on the message board for passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, Wednesday, March 19, 2014. AP

In this Monday, March 17, 2014 photo released by U.S. Navy, a sailor assigned to Patrol Squadron (VP) 46 prepares to launch a P-3C Orion before its mission to assist in search and rescue operations for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. AP

In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, crew members on board an aircraft P-8A Poseidon assist in search and rescue operations for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, March 16, 2014. Malaysian authorities on Sunday examined a flight simulator that was confiscated from the home of one of the missing jetliner's pilots. The Boeing 777 went missing less than an hour into a March 8, flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing as it entered Vietnamese airspace. AP

Travelers queue at the immigration counters as they make their way through the departure hall at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Sunday, March 16, 2014 in Sepang, Malaysia. Malaysian authorities Sunday were investigating the pilots of the missing jetliner after it was established that whoever flew off with the Boeing 777 had intimate knowledge of the cockpit and knew how to avoid detection when navigating around Asia. AP

A girl writes a message for passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane, at a shopping mall in Petaling Jaya, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, March 16, 2014. Malaysian authorities Sunday were investigating the pilots of the missing jetliner after it was established that whoever flew off with the Boeing 777 had intimate knowledge of the cockpit and knew how to avoid detection when navigating around Asia. AP

Malaysia's acting minister for transport Hishamuddin Hussein (center) takes queries from the media during a press conference regarding missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Sunday, March 16, 2014 in Sepang, Malaysia. Malaysian authorities Sunday were investigating the pilots of the missing jetliner after it was established that whoever flew off with the Boeing 777 had intimate knowledge of the cockpit and knew how to avoid detection when navigating around Asia. AP

Motorists drive past an electronic board displaying "Pray for MH370" in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, March 16, 2014. Malaysian authorities Sunday were investigating the pilots of the missing jetliner after it was established that whoever flew off with the Boeing 777 had intimate knowledge of the cockpit and knew how to avoid detection when navigating around Asia. AP

A note paper with messages for passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane, is pasted on a message board at a shopping mall in Petaling Jaya, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, March 16, 2014. Malaysian authorities Sunday were investigating the pilots of the missing jetliner after it was established that whoever flew off with the Boeing 777 had intimate knowledge of the cockpit and knew how to avoid detection when navigating around Asia. AP

In this March 13, 2014 file photo, university students hold a candlelight vigil for passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in Yangzhou, in eastern China's Jiangsu province. The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has exposed wide gaps in how the world's airlines, and their regulators, operate. But experts warn this is not likely to be one of those defining moments that lead to fundamental changes. AP

A woman leaves a message for passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane, at a shopping mall in Petaling Jaya, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, March 16, 2014. Malaysian authorities Sunday were investigating the pilots of the missing jetliner after it was established that whoever flew off with the Boeing 777 had intimate knowledge of the cockpit and knew how to avoid detection when navigating around Asia. AP

A woman walks past a banner filled with signatures and well-wishes for all involved with the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner MH370 at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Sunday, March 16, 2014 in Sepang, Malaysia. Malaysian authorities Sunday were investigating the pilots of the missing jetliner after it was established that whoever flew off with the Boeing 777 had intimate knowledge of the cockpit and knew how to avoid detection when navigating around Asia. AP

A Malaysian military soldier patrols the viewing gallery of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport where dedication boards with well wishes and messages for people involved with the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner MH370 is displayed, Sunday, March 16, 2014 in Sepang, Malaysia. Malaysian authorities Sunday were investigating the pilots of the missing jetliner after it was established that whoever flew off with the Boeing 777 had intimate knowledge of the cockpit and knew how to avoid detection when navigating around Asia. AP

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While the Bluefin had less than one-fifth of the seabed search area to complete, Johnston estimated that task would take another two weeks.

"We want to be very thorough," he said.

The Bluefin's first 16-hour sea floor mission last week was aborted because the water depth exceeded its 4.5 kilometer safety limit. Johnston said it was possible that wreckage had been missed in that deep water.

The focus of next phase of the seafloor search whether it will include the initial search area would be decided on by continuing analysis of information including flight data and sound detections of suspected beacons, he said.

"We are currently gathering all of the facts together to mount a further assault on the most likely location, given all the facts," he said. "But can I say, it is one hell of a vast area."

"A lot of this seabed has not even been hydrographically surveyed before — some of it has — but we're flying blind," he said, adding that the seabed in the vicinity of the search was up to 7 kilometers (4 miles) deep.

"The whole thing is extraordinarily complex in one of other most isolated parts of the ocean on the planet in very deep water," he added.

The air search for debris would likely continue until a new search phase was announced next week, he said.

The search center said up to 10 planes and 12 ships would join Wednesday's search of an expanse covering 38,000 square kilometers (14,500 square miles), centered 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) northwest of the city of Perth.

Radar and satellite data show the jet carrying 239 passengers and crew veered far off course on March 8 for unknown reasons during a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing. Analysis indicates it would have run out of fuel in the remote section of ocean where the search has been focused. Not one piece of debris has been recovered since the massive multinational hunt began.